AltspaceVR Will not Shut Down its Virtual Hangout

AltspaceVR, the famous virtual reality, social hangout application that announced their shut down last month due to financial difficulties, appears to have been saved.

It should be remembered that on July 28th, VR company announced through their blog that they would be closing down on August 3rd. A part of the company’s heartfelt post read:

“It is with a tremendously heavy heart that we let you all know that we are closing down AltspaceVR on August 3rd, 7PM PDT. The company has run into unforeseen financial difficulty and we can’t afford to keep the virtual lights on anymore. This is surprising, disappointing, and frustrating for every one of us who have put our passion and our hopes into AltspaceVR. We know it will probably feel similarly for you.”

AltspaceVR

AltspaceVR is a virtual reality, social hangout application available in a wide range of VR headsets such as Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Google Daydream. There is also a non-VR version of the application available for PC and Mac.

Who Saved AltspaceVr?

On the company’s latest blog post announcing their comeback, the company mentioned they are now “deep in discussions” with people who showed their interest in keeping the company alive. The post read:

“Thanks to that outpouring of support, we’re now deep in discussions with others who are passionate about AltspaceVR who want to guarantee that our virtual oasis stays open. We feel confident saying to our community that you don’t need to find another place to meet your friends in virtual reality. AltspaceVR is not closing down.”

The startup which started their business in 2013 also expressed their gratitude for all the people who contributed to the company. They went on to say:

“We look forward to seeing what you’ll make next in AltspaceVR. Thank you for fostering a wonderful place for people to meet, hang out, play games, attend comedy shows, meetups, get married, and above all, laugh. If you’re one of our SDK developers and you’ve made something in AltspaceVR, please know that your work still has a vibrant home.

We’re excited to continue seeing the amazing and unexpected things you all create. We are so thankful that you, our hosts, and our community have made what AltspaceVR is today — a place worth saving.”

The post further stated that the company would be “be working to pump some life into AltspaceVR over the next few weeks and in the meantime, fill it with your shining avatar faces, catch up with friends, and meet new people from all around this wonderful world of ours.”

While the company maintains secrecy over the identity of its savior, TechCrunch noted that one possible investor is Oculus Co-Founder, Palmer Luckey. Last month, Luckey tweeted a message to his Twitter followers polling them on whether or not he should save the startup.

“We are now in discussions with third parties to develop a sustainable solution to continue development and growth for the future. We look forward to communicating more as details solidify over the coming weeks and months.”

Currently, the company is operating with limited resources as it was reported that it laid off several employees and shut down the majority of its servers following its ‘shut down’ announcement back in July.

Do you believe that AltspaceVR deserves a second chance? Let us know in the comment section below!